Russell Brand takes the stand at his rape and sexual assault trial

Actor and comedian Russell Brand took the basal successful his proceedings connected rape and intersexual battle charges successful London connected Wednesday. 

Brand, 51, is accused of 3 counts of rape, 3 counts of intersexual battle and 1 complaint of attempted indecent assault. 

The allegations, made by six pistillate complainants, span a 10-year play betwixt 1999 and 2009. Brand has pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

He started the greeting by answering questions connected whether helium committed each respective complaint with a terse "no." Under cross-examination, helium said helium was innocent. 

"My full beingness has been consumed by these allegations," Brand said successful his archetypal questioning. Under cross-examination, helium said that portion helium believes helium behaved promiscuously during the clip play successful question, helium thinks that "consent is perfectly non-negotiable." 

Brand calls consent "more important than enactment itself"  

One pistillate alleged she met Brand astatine a Labour Party league successful 1999. She believed Brand was gay, and invited him to her edifice country to proceed a speech that began aft a cabaret amusement wherever helium performed. She alleged helium came retired of the bath topless earlier raping her. 

Brand said helium remembers gathering the unfortunate and chatting with her. When asked if helium portrayed himself arsenic gay, helium said, "I don't deliberation so." Brand said the unfortunate was the 1 who suggested returning to her edifice room. 

Brand said helium believes helium would person checked successful with the pistillate during the encounter, and denied raping her. He said helium believes "consent is fundamental, essential, necessary, and successful galore ways, much important than enactment itself."

A pistillate who was moving astatine MTV successful 2001, wherever Brand was besides employed, said she was showing him wherever the bathrooms were erstwhile helium grabbed her hard by the forearm and said "come in, spell on, travel in." Brand said helium was lone astatine those offices "between 2 and 5 times," does not callback gathering the alleged victim, and does not callback taking her by the limb oregon attempting to prosecute successful nonconsensual intersexual activity. 

Another pistillate alleged Brand grabbed her breasts and orally raped her successful a London barroom successful July 2004, allegations that Brand again denied. 

Brand initially told constabulary successful 2024 that helium "had nary representation of meeting" the victim, but helium said connected the basal that helium revisited the alleged determination and recalled an encounter. He besides said that seeing a video interrogation betwixt the unfortunate and constabulary helped him callback the encounter. When asked by prosecutors if helium waited to springiness his relationship until helium saw the video interviews from that alleged unfortunate and others to "structure his case" astir their comments, helium said no. 

Brand answers questions astir alleged apology  

Another unfortunate alleged Brand anally raped her successful 2009. She alleged the brushwood near humor and feces connected furniture sheets, which Brand past forced her to clean. Prosecutors accidental the alleged unfortunate had a threesome with Brand backstage astatine London's Hammersmith Apollo Theatre earlier returning to his location for consensual sex. 

On the stand, Brand confirmed that helium and the pistillate had anal sex, on with different forms of penetration, and recalled being "excited and enthusiastic" astir the "kinky" experience. He said the pistillate had consented and agreed to the encounter. 

Brand said helium had nary denotation that the pistillate was successful pain, and she did not inquire him to stop. He said helium had a full-time housekeeper who would person cleaned the furniture sheets. 

Brand said helium does not callback texting the unfortunate aft the encounter, but she said that she sent Brand a connection wherever she accused him of treating her "like an animal." The pistillate alleged that Brand texted backmost "sorry." On the stand, Brand said helium did not callback the exchange, but said helium would person been apologizing for the "expressed dissatisfaction." 

Brand blames documentary for charges 

Under cross-examination, Brand blamed a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary programme for the allegations against him. He said helium believes the media person been unfair to him successful the case, and said helium was "innocent" of each allegations. 

Before the documentary was released, Brand posted a video online denying the allegations. In the video, helium noted again that helium had been promiscuous during the clip play described, but his relationships were "absolutely, ever consensual." 

He suggested the reports were portion of a coordinated onslaught due to the fact that of his newfound prominence arsenic an online wellness influencer and governmental commentator. The women featured successful the documentary said they lone felt acceptable to stock their stories aft being approached by reporters, with immoderate mentioning Brand's online fame arsenic a origin successful their determination to speak. 

After the allegations, Brand's YouTube transmission was demonitized. He was besides dropped by his endowment bureau and had scheduled performances canceled.  

In:

• Rape
• Sexual Assault
• Trial
• London
• Russell Brand
• England